


forever and always

by fairytalebarnes



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Love Confessions, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-War, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-30 07:39:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19848592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairytalebarnes/pseuds/fairytalebarnes
Summary: Growing up, Steve Rogers had always been curious about the concept of true love.But Steve eventually realizes that when he thinks about soulmates, one person always comes to mind. Bucky Barnes.





	forever and always

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a thread I made on twitter of a similar story/fic idea and I knew I had to write it, so here it is!
> 
> I really hope you like it

Growing up, Steve Rogers had always been curious about the concept of true love.

How do you know when you love someone?

What is a soulmate?

Does love at first sight exist?

And as a sickly child who didn’t receive much attention, he was always reassured by his mother. Sarah Rogers was always supportive of Steve, all of his decisions and achievements, so Steve trusted her more than anything.

Even when his self-esteem was so low, he felt useless, Sarah was always there to pick him back up and remind him that he was perfect the way he was. She would tell him that he may feel lonely now, but everyone has a special someone – they’re out there somewhere. And just because Steve hadn’t met them yet doesn’t mean he never would. 

“You can’t rush love, sweetheart”

So Steve would wait. He never gave up hope. 

Steve’s best friend, Bucky Barnes, would often ask Steve to come on dates with him. There would be a girl for him too, and he wanted the best for Steve. He was only trying to help.

However, Steve never really had fun with these random girls. Half of the time they paid no attention to him. He felt invisible. He thought there was something wrong with him. 

But Sarah wouldn’t stop reminding him to never give up hope. 

One night, after another failed attempt of a date, Steve felt defeated. Once they had returned to Bucky’s apartment, he collapsed onto the couch, kicking his feet up onto the small coffee table and sighing heavily.

Bucky was heartbroken. He hated seeing Steve this way. He didn’t understand why girls weren’t throwing themselves at Steve. What’s not to like? In Bucky’s eyes, Steve was perfect. They had lived their whole lives together. Steve was funny and kind and supportive and smart. Anyone would be lucky to have him.

He took a seat next to Steve, throwing an arm around his shoulder and bringing the smaller boy closer. He wanted Steve to feel loved like he deserved. And if no one else was going to do it, he was more than happy to.

Steve fell asleep in Bucky’s arms, feeling a little better being held so close. Bucky always made him feel safe. Like nothing in the world could ever hurt him.

A few weeks later and Steve had refused to go on any of the date nights Bucky had suggested. He was taking his mother’s advice – don’t rush anything. It will happen when its meant to.

Steve sat in his bedroom, sketchbook in hand. He had lost motivation to draw recently, so instead he chose to look through his old pictures, admiring his own work.

Flicking through this sketchbook sparked a feeling inside of Steve. He realized that most of his sketches were of Bucky. But that wasn’t unusual, right? Bucky was his best friend and he loved when Steve drew him. As Steve stared closer at the images in front of him, he noticed the details of the sketches. Bucky smiling, the dimples that formed as he did. The freckles that were more pronounced during the summer months. The way his nose scrunched up when he laughed. And Steve suddenly felt warm and happy. Then he remembered that he often felt that way around Bucky.

He thought about Sarah’s many chats about love. He began to compare his feelings towards Bucky to Sarah’s descriptions of soulmates and true love. He had felt this way for so many years, how had he never noticed.

Steve was in love with Bucky.

When Sarah returned from her shift at the hospital that night, Steve was waiting for her. He was nervous to talk so openly about this. Why was something so happy so hard to talk about?

“Hey ma” Steve smiled as she walked into the house, hanging her coat up and coming over to hug Steve.

“Hey sweetheart, why are you still up?”

Steve had been so nervous; he hadn’t realized the time. He quickly came up with an excuse that it was too cold in his room and he struggled to fall asleep.

Sarah sat down next to Steve, watching his expression. “Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong?”

Of course she knew something was going on. Steve couldn’t hide anything from her.

So he explained what was happening. Well, not exactly.

He suddenly froze, too nervous to expose his feelings for Bucky so instead he made up an elaborate story about a girl he had met on one of his and Bucky’s ‘date nights’. He told Sarah that he wanted advice, how to talk to her about his feelings and know if she felt the same way.

He was making it all up on the spot. He had no idea if she would believe him, but he carried on talking.

Obviously, Sarah had questions. Why had Steve never mentioned this girl before? What was her name? What was she like? And Steve answered all of these questions with as little detail as possible, just enough to make it believable. 

Sarah didn’t believe him for a second. But she had an idea of who Steve was talking about. She had seen it practically all of Steve’s life. She knew true love when she saw it, and the way Steve acted around Bucky was exactly what Steve was describing right now.

So instead of giving Steve advice about a girl, she grabbed his hands in her own.

“Steve, you don’t need to hide from me honey. I know you a lot better than you think” she chuckled. “I know exactly who you’re talking about, I’ve seen it with my own eyes. And if you’re worried about them not feeling the same way then trust me, you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You need to trust your heart. If you two are meant to be, then it will happen exactly how it’s meant to”.

Steve couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was no way his ma knew he loved Bucky.

That was until Sarah got up, still holding Steve’s hands and pulling him up with her. “I know you love him. He loves you too. Nothing will ever change that”. She leaned forward to hug him again.

Steve was stunned. He was so scared of telling her the truth. But now she knew. She said Bucky loved him too. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as bad as he thought.

“Now go get him” she smiled down at him, nudging him slightly, encouraging him to move towards the door.

This was his chance. And he wasn’t going to waste it. 

He arrived at Bucky’s apartment around 11 pm. He knew Bucky wouldn’t be asleep yet, so he knocked lightly on the door, not wanting to wake any of the neighbors.

“Steve? What are you doing here at this time of night?” he asked as he opened the door. He looked tired as he spoke.

He stepped out of the way to let Steve into the apartment.

“Couldn’t sleep. Wanted to see you” he mumbled as he turned to hug Bucky. Bucky held him tight, the height difference allowing him to rest his chin on Steve’s head. 

“Can we go watch the stars?” Steve asked as he pulled away from the hug. 

“Anything for you” Bucky spoke back, walking towards the small balcony giving them a perfect view of the Brooklyn sky.

It was November, so the night air was cold around them. Bucky sat on the floor and leaned up against the wall, pulling Steve into his side and putting an arm around his waist protectively. 

It was now or never. Steve took his chance.

The two boys had never been very good with words. They often struggled to communicate that way. Their emotions were often so strong that it was difficult to form sentences. To them, actions spoke louder than words. They turned to touch to convey their feelings.

Steve buried his head into Bucky’s chest, leaving no gap between them. That action was enough of a confession – they only held each other like this when their emotions were heightened. When they need to be close to feel safe. To feel whole again.

But Steve had to say it to make it real. He lifted his head lightly, staring up at Bucky. He noticed the way the light from the moon cast shadows across his face. The way his jawline occasionally tensed. The way his eyes sparkled as he stared up at the stars.

Bucky could feel Steve moving against him, so he looked down to catch Steve staring right back up at him. 

“Buck?” Steve spoke quietly.

“Yeah Stevie?” his voice was smooth and calming as he reached his hand out to brush a stray hair out of the smaller boy’s face.

“I love you” 

“I love you too pal. Always have. Always will” Bucky’s reply came instantly. He smiled down at the blond in his lap, tightening his grip around Steve’s waist and holding him impossibly closer.

He placed a soft kiss on Steve’s cheek, smiling against his skin. Steve loved him too. 

Sure, they had said they love each other as friends before, but this time was different – they both knew that. 

The two boys spent the rest of the night tangled together staring up at the stars. From that night on, they knew that they loved each other. And if they were ever apart, all they had to do was look up at the stars and know the other was doing the same thing.

Because they were connected.

They had each other.

Forever and always.


End file.
